Village Bans Semi-Automatic Weapons, Residents Must Remove From Home Or Face Up To $1,000 Fines — Per Day

Rulemakers in the village of Deerfield, Illinois, ​have voted unanimously to ban semi-automatic rifles, along with pistols and shotguns “with certain features.” Deerfield also voted to ban magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

The ban passed Monday night outlaws any weapon the village leaders deem “assault weapons,” including AR-15s. But the ban also includes “semi-automatic rifles, pistols and shotguns with certain features.”

“This is our fight. This is our generation’s fight, and we’re going to keep fighting,” Deerfield High School student Ariella Kharasch said at a public hearing, according to ABC-7 in Chicago. “Thank you for being part of that.”

The new ordinance takes effect June 13. Residents who still have banned weapons after that date face up to $1,000 fines per day.

The new ordinance was modeled on a ban put in place in Highland Park, Illinois, which went to the United States Supreme Court. The high court let a lower court ruling allowing the ban stand.

“If Highland Park, if Deerfield, if more towns say no to this type of weapon, maybe the state of Illinois says no,” said Deerfield Village Manager Kent Street. “Maybe the federal government says no.”

Opponents said the ban would make residents less safe, ABC reported.

“You are the bureaucrats that Thomas Jefferson warned us about,” said Deerfield resident Dan Cox.

“There were a lot of emotional arguments and not a lot based on fact,” said Daniel Easterday, according to CBS Chicago. “Deerfield is a very crime free community, and I don’t see how this is going to make it any more crime free.”

“Larry Nordal of Deerfield cited their rights under the Second Amendment and expressed fear that more restrictive laws would be passed in the future,” the Chicago Tribune reported.

“The ordinance to store firearms was only passed for one reason,” Nordal said. “That was to have an amendatory vehicle that could be used in the future for just this purpose so you could banish assorted firearms in the future. First it’s going to be assault rifles. [There will be] new bans in the future. It’s just a matter of time.”